History of Caltex Car Washes
This page explores the history of Caltex Car Washes in New Zealand. Caltex has a very interesting and varies history of Car Washes, so this is going to be a very exciting adventure! Ryko UltraClean (1990's) Like everyone, Caltex installed Ryko UltraClean 5-brush machines in the mid-90's. These would've been installed with either plain-Red or Red & White brushes. However, some sites used second-hand brushes from Mobil (blue) to repair their machines. The only remaining examples are at former Caltex sites purchased by smaller companies, such as Challenge and Gull. Loads of these were installed nationwide. Otaki1uc.jpg UltraCleanR-1.png Porirua1C.jpg UltraCleanMB-1.png Ryko Premier XL (1990's) Just as BP and Mobil did, Caltex switched to the newer Premier XL 5-brush machine in the late-90's. These were usually fitted with red brushes. Sites later used second-hand brushes from either Mobil (blue/red & blue) or BP (green) to repair their machines. The only remaining examples are at former Caltex sites purchased by smaller companies, such as Challenge and Gull. Caltex installed absolutely loads of these nationwide. Masterton1pxl.jpg PremierXL-2inv.png NewPlymouth2.png PremierXL-1cx.png ChallengeHokitikaa3.png ChallengeHokitika2.png|NB: This is an ex. Caltex one that now belongs to Challenge ChallengeHokitika.png|NB: This is an ex. Caltex one that now belongs to Challenge Hokitikanewbrushes.png|NB: This is an ex. Caltex one that now belongs to Challenge (who have also put these lovley new brushes on it). GullThames.png|NB: This is an ex. Caltex one that now belongs to Gull Ryko Monarch II (1990's) Caltex also installed a large number of Ryko Monarch II touch-free machines around the country. I'm pretty sure that none of these are left. These were installed nationwide, mostly in bigger r, more populated regions, such as Auckland, Wellington, Palmerston North & Canterbury. LowerHutt1.jpg Upperhuttcal1.jpg MonarchII-2.png MonarchII-1.png Mark VII AquaJet GT-98 (1990's-2000's) A handful of AquaJet GT-98 touch-free's were installed around the country, but not many (mostly in Wellington and Canterbury). None of these are left (some were lost due to site closures, others were simply replaced). AquaJet-AKL-1.png LowerHuttC1.jpg LowerHuttC2.jpg AquaJet-Rangiora-1.png AquaJet-Rangiora-2.png Istobal M10 Multiprogrammer (early 2000's) This is an entry into the series of "oddball" car washes that a number of Caltex's in small towns ended up with. One site in Danniverke got an Istobal M10 Multiprogrammer with strange multi-coloured brushes. It was replaced sometime between 2009 and 2013. M10-1.png M10-2.png Washtec CK30 (early 2000's) Only one Caltex has ever had one of these. It was a site a small town, which had one outdoors with white brushes. It was removed in 2017. CK30-white-1.png PDQ Laser 4000 (2000's) Caltex installed a number of PDQ Laser 4000 touch-free machines around the country. Quite a few of these have been replaced now, however. It is unclear exactly where around the country these were most popular, though Wellington and the lower North Island has always tended to be where most of Caltex's PDQ machines ended up, as well as a few units in Canterbuty on the South Island. Rimutaka2.jpg Rimutaka1.jpg Otaki2C.jpg Unknown Ceccato (2000's) This is another example of "oddball" car washes that you often find some Caltex's more rural locations. This Car Wash was located at a site in a small town called "Winton", just north of Invercargill at the bottom of the South Island. I cannot identify this machine, but the brush design suggests that it was some kind of Ceccato. It was installed sometime before Google Streetview was a thing (so before 2008), but it was sadly removed in 2019. Whether a new machine will replace it or not is unknown. UnknownCeccato-1.png Ceccato Pegasus (late 2000's) A couple of Caltex's in Auckland received Ceccato Pegasus machines with red brushes in the late 2000's. One of these has already been replaced. CeccatoPegasus2.png CeccatoPegasus3.png M12-1.png Ryko Excel (late 2000's) Once again we arrive at another Caltex "oddball". this Ryko excel was installed in Danniverke to replace the existing Istobal M10 sometime between 2009 and 2013. In 2018 it was replaced with a new Istobal M'Start. Danniverke1.jpg Danniverke2.jpg Dannieverke3.jpg PDQ Laserwash M5 (late 2000's) A couple of Caltex sites - mainly in the North Island - received PDQ Laserwash M5 touch-free's, but very few did due to the release of the new Laserwash 360. DSCN6508.JPG DSCN6509.JPG LaserwashM5-1cx.png|A Laserwash M5 at the former Caltex Upper Harbour, which sadly closed in 2018 and was demolished. LaserwashM5-2.png|A Laserwash M5 at the former Caltex Upper Harbour, which sadly closed in 2018 and was demolished. Istobal M12 (late 2000's) Two Caltex's in the Canterbury Region (Riccarton and Rangiora) installed an Istobal M12 with Red Brushes sometime between 2009 and 2012. M12-1rag.png M12-2.png M12-3.png PDQ Laserwash 360 (2012-2017) Caltex installed a large number of PDQ Laserwash 360 touch-free's. These were mostly installed in the lower-half of the North Island (including Wellington, Palmerston North, Hawke's Bay and more). I have also found one or two of these in Canterbury, on the South Island. The newest Laserwash I have found at a Caltex is from 2017. Porirua6.jpg Porirua5.jpg LowerHutt2.jpg DSCN1440.JPG DSCN1437.JPG DSCN1441.JPG Masterton2.jpg NewPlymouth1.png Ryko Radius (2011-Recent) Caltex also installed a large number of Ryko Radius touch-free machines around the same time as the Laserwash 360. Most of these can be found on the South Island, particularly in the southernmost areas of Queenstown, Invercargill and Dunedin, as well in areas at the top of the South Island, such as Nelson.. I am yet to find any of these newer than 2017. I also have not found any of these on the North Island. Radius5.png Radius2cx.png Radius1cx.png Radius3.png Radius4.png Radius6.png Washtec SoftCare Evo (2012-2013) Only of a couple of these were installed in Auckland, the first has Red & Green striped brushes and was installed around 2012. The other has two-tone Blue brushes and was installed sometime after 2012. SylviaParkGoogle.png SylviaPark1.jpg BlueEvo.png Christ Centus (around 2012) This is the only known Caltex to have a Christ Centus, located in Otorohanga on the North Island. It has Black & Red striped brushes. Christ-1.png Washtec SoftCare (2012-Recent) This is another type of Car Wash that Caltex installed many of. These are most common in the Northern-half of the North Island (including the North Shore, Auckland, Hamilton, Bay of Plenty and down as far as Whanganui). In addition, some areas in the South Island also received these, particularly in certain regions of Canterbury. These have all been installed fairly recently, but not for a few years. It is interesting how whilst the rest of NZ seemed to be getting touch-free's, Caltex seemed to prefer Brush-washes in the upper north. Almost all of these were installed with two-tone blue brushes. However, there is one unit in Auckland (installed in 2012) which has Red & Black stripes instead. Whanganui1.jpg SoftCare3.png SoftCare2cx.png SoftCare1cx.png GreyLynn1.png GreyLynn2.png Istobal M'Start (2015-Present) A few Caltex Sites have received Istobal M'Start's with Red & Black striped brushes over the last few years, though only very few, as most have installed the more heavy-duty M'Nex range. MStartDanniverke.png Danniverke M'Start.png Auckland1.jpg Istobal M'Nex 22 (2015-Present) Caltex's main machine for the last few years has been the Istobal M'Nex 22. Earlier machines had plain red brushes, and new machines have Red & Black striped brushes. You'll find most of these in the upper North island, particularly Auckland, though there is also one located at a site in Paraparaumu, Wellington, which was installed in 2017 (the first M'Nex 22 in Wellington, and currently to only Caltex in the region to have a brush-wash). Kapiti2.jpg Kapiti1.jpg Kapiti3.jpg MNex22-3.png MNex22-2.png MNex22-1.png Istobal M'Nex 25 (2015-Present) In addition to the M'Nex 22, a select very few sites have had two-carriage Istobal M'Nex 25's installed. The earlier machines had plain red brushes, and new machines have Red & Black striped brushes. Most of these are located in Auckland, as well as one located in Napier. MNex25-3.png MNex25-1.png MNex25-2.png Washworld High-Velocity (around 2016) There is only one Caltex (in Auckland) to have one of these touch-free machines. It was installed sometime between 2015 and 2017. It is the only petrol station in NZ to have one (though others exist at private car wash sites. Washworld1.png Mark VII TurboJet XT L-Arm (2017-Present) One site in Christchurch has had one of these new TurboJet XT Touch-free machines installed in 2017. TurboJetXT-2.png TurboJetXT-1.png PDQ Laserwash 360plus (2018-Present) The 360plus is an updated version of the original 360. This new machine features overhead lights, and has four dryers, as opposed to only three on the original. So far, only two Caltex's are known to have one. The first of these is in Newtown which actually replaced a 5-year old original 360 in 2018! The other is in Feilding, which was also installed in 2018 when a Car Wash was first added to the site. DSCN5746.JPG 360plus-1.png